Jessica Simpson Tells Couric Losing Weight a “Challenge”

The singer-turned-actress, Jessica Simpson confirmed she has shed more than 40 pounds to Katie Couric on her new talk show. Simpson, in part thanked her work on her Weight Watchers plan.

Simpson stood up to reveal her post-baby body in front of a national audience for the first time since welcoming daughter Maxwell in May.

The 32-year-old recording artist reportedly gained 70 pounds during her pregnancy. “My doctors told me [my pregnancy weight] was a lot of water, and when my water broke, all the weight did not come out with the baby,” she told Couric. ” I want to be as healthy as I can because I’m a mom now.”

Although Simpson said she gained “more baby weight than I was planning,” she is now only 10 pounds from her pre-baby weight. “I set small goals for myself,” she said. “I’ve lost weight every week, thank God, but I’ve worked really hard. I have to shoot a new season of Fashion Star.”

She also told Couric that losing her pregnancy weight has been a “lot of pressure” and a “challenge.”

Earlier this year, Simpson signed a reported $3 million dollar contract to be the celebrity face of Weight Watchers. Perhaps this was a source of her stress.

During her pregnancy, the 32-year-old starlet admitted to succumbing to cravings for sweets, most notably a concoction called “slutty brownies,” made up of cookie dough, oreo cookies and brownie dough baked together.

Add to that a love for Tex Mex, anything fried and barbecue, and Simpson admits that her diet during her pregnancy was anything but healthy.

“Can’t beat Velveeta,” she quipped at one point during the show as Couric chatted with her Weight Watchers coach.

But even at her heaviest — Simpson said she weighed 170 pounds when she posed nude and pregnant for Elle magazine in April — the singer said she would pointedly avoid the negative press.

“I’ve been pregnant for three years!” she joked of the way the tabloids have made fun of her yo-yo weight.

“I understand that it sells magazines and stuff … but I wish I could get a cut!” she laughed.

In addition to her job on the NBC reality show, Simpson is the new official spokeswoman for Weight Watchers and her first ad is set to debut Monday night. “I definitely don’t pick up the magazines. I definitely don’t Google my name. I try to avoid it completely. But I subconsciously know the talk is going on. Every day it’s a struggle for me,” she said. “Weight Watchers is not intimidating. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.” But food cravings are still an obstacle. “I feel like what made me eat more is my hormones and breastfeeding. I’ve never wanted chocolate more in my life,” she said. I’ve had to really stay focused and focus on my diet and concentrate on what I’m putting in my body.”

She said she’s just a few pounds away from her goal weight, and she’s using her daughter to get there.

“I basically take her with me, whether it’s strapping her on me or strolling around the neighborhood,” she said. “My new goal is 14,000 steps a day.”

Couric should certainly be sympathetic — given the mixed response to the debut, she has some distance to walk in gaining acceptance from viewers.

Maxwell is the first child for Simpson and her fiancé, former NFL player Eric Johnson. Simpson told Couric on Monday that the two have not yet set a date for their wedding because they have been too busy with their new daughter. “Maxwell has taken up all our time and I want a big wedding.”